Sunday, February 9, 2014

This Month's Freezer Meal: Easy Pasta Bake

Are you ready for another freezer safe recipe? On the second Monday of every month, I share with you a delicious and easy freezer safe recipe. I have done a couple of breakfast recipes, a dessert and now I am going to share an easy pasta bake recipe! AND, this pasta bake has a twist to it... it has a special 'white sauce' with sour cream AND... cream cheese in it! Yep, you heard me right... cream cheese. I also put another twist on this recipe and made a 'kid safe' version with a jar of regular spaghetti sauce and a 'grown up' version with a jar of Trader Joe's Organic Vodka Sauce. Yum!! Are you ready for the recipe?This recipe makes TWO 9x13 pans of this easy pasta bake, so you can enjoy one immediately and you can freeze the other... or freeze both, it is up to you!Step OnePre-heat the oven to 350. Place the cream cheese on top of the oven so it 'softens' a bit as the oven warms up. Then you will want to cook the noodles in boiling water and brown the meat.

Step TwoGrease the 9x13 pans and then split up the spaghetti noodles in the pans as the bottom layer.Step ThreeNow, you'll make the sour cream and cream cheese mixture... dump both in a bowl and mix well, I used a fork and sort of mashed the cream cheese into the sour cream into it became more of a creamy mixture. Then, put half of this mixture into each 9x13 pan on top of the spaghetti noodles. I used a spatula and sort of mixed it into the noodles, since is sort of a clumpy mixture.Step FourThen, add the spaghetti sauce to the hamburger meat and let it simmer for a bit on the stove. Once it has heated through, pour over the cream cheese/sour cream mixture. Since I purchased regular spaghetti sauce for one casserole dish and Vodka sauce for the other, I prepared these both separately on the stove.

Have you ever had Vodka sauce before? Yum! Can't wait to try this grown up version of this easy pasta bake! This was the one I decided to freeze for later...

Step FiveSprinkle a bag of shredded cheddar cheese on each casserole. Trust me, it is really good with all of that cheese! Then plop it in the oven for 20 minutes!

And, out of the oven it looks like THIS... a gooey, delicious baked pasta treat with a delicious creamy hidden white sauce that gives it a little extra flavor! YUM! You will LOVE it!

We ate this with garlic buttered croissant rolls from Pillsbury and if I would have had more time... I would have loved a nice green salad with this. This cold weather really makes me crave casseroles! And, I will be enjoying the leftovers tomorrow!

If you save one of the casseroles for later, wrap it up tightly and store in the freezer. I always write the baking directions on the foil so I can easily reference them later. Don't forget to thaw it overnight, then bake it for 20 minutes at 350.Are you ready for the recipe? You can find it below, along with the other freezer meals I have prepared this year.

I am hosting a giveaway! Click HERE for a GIVEAWAY for a $120 gift card to Roadrunner Sports! Also, several bloggers are sharing their running tips!Easy Pasta Bake2 boxes of spaghetti noodles2 8 oz blocks of cream cheese2 8 oz Tubs of sour cream2 Jars of Spaghetti Sauce (I did one jar of spaghetti sauce and 1 jar of Vodka sauce)2 Bags of shredded cheddar cheese1 package of ground chuck to split between the casseroles1. Boil spaghetti noodles until done. At the same time, brown the ground chuck over stove top.2. Grease 2 9x13 pans and pour half of the spaghetti noodles into each pan3. Mix cream cheese and sour cream in a bowl and then spread half of it on top of spaghetti noodles in each 9x13 pan4. Add spaghetti sauce to the meat and heat through... if you are using two different kinds of spaghetti sauce, prepare one at a time. Pour 1 jar of spaghetti sauce and half of the meat into each 9x13 pan.5. Sprinkle 1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese onto each 9x13 pan6. Put 1 casserole in the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Wrap the other casserole and write freezer directions on it (Thaw out overnight, Bake for 20 minutes at 350).